Two men have been remanded in custody after appearing in court charged under the Money Laundering Act in connection with the seizure of €2 million in cash in Co Wexford over the weekend.
Glen Power (29), of Colpark Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin, is charged in relation to the alleged handing over of €505,000 in cash in a car park at Clonard in Wexford town on Sunday. He is also charged over the subsequent discovery of €500,000 in cash in the attic of a house in Ballyfermot.
Bernard Joyce (44), of Ashbourne, Co Meath, is charged with possessing property that gardaí believe to be the proceeds of crime. It was alleged that when gardaí searched a house at Arnestown, Foulksmills on Saturday they recovered 20 bundles of cash amounting to some €1 million.
Wexford District Court heard that neither accused made any reply when charged. Sgt Gary Raynor asked Judge Gerard Haughton for an adjournment of the proceedings in Mr Joyce's case to Monday next.
Unemployed
Judge Gerard Haughton agreed to an application from Sgt Gary Raynor and remanded Mr Joyce in custody to appear via video link next Monday. The judge granted legal aid to Mr Joyce, who the court heard was unemployed.
Det Garda Fiona Connaughton, who gave evidence of charging Mr Power, said gardaí believe the €505,000 seized in the car park was about to be taken out of the State. She said the charges arose from an Intelligence Operation carried out by the National Drugs Investigations Unit.
Tracey Horan, solicitor for Mr Power, told the court her client would not be a flight risk and would hand over his passport. She said her client had no previous convictions, suffers from a back injury and is currently on social welfare.
However, Det Garda Connaughton said that based on the amount of cash involved in the case, Mr Power would be a flight risk and that handing over his passport would not be acceptable.
Refusing bail, Judge Haughton said he had no evidence of Mr Power having a back injury and no evidence to show he was not aware of the amount of money in the car. He remanded Mr Power in custody to appear at Cloverhill District Court on Friday.